If you get chilly, here take my sweater

I may be the coldest natured person that the Dear Lord Jesus has ever graced the planet with. And for that reason, ladies and gentlemen, I am the proud owner of over 25 sweaters. Yes, I said it, the secret is out. I am a sweater hoarder, and quite frankly, I'm ok with the whole situation. It is pretty convenient that I have a sweater to match every outfit that I will ever put on. And I can go over three weeks without wearing the same one twice. Seriously, I am living in a dream world!

I have come to know the true power of a good cardigan over the past couple years. If you think really hard and close your eyes, you can actually solve any problem by wrapping a sweater around it. Let's start with the basics:

"Oh, you look like you have the Goosebumps, here take my sweater" (problem solved).

"Excuse me sir but it looks like you were just shot, let me stop the bleeding with my old sweater" (check).

"Oh rip stick! I forgot my pillow on this 9 hour plane ride! Good thing I brought this sweater!" (Crisis averted)

You can also utilize our crocheted friends by stuffing it in the mouth of that annoying girl that sits in front of the classroom and refuses to shut her yap trap.

I mean, clearly, I could go on and on but I think that most of you are starting to get the picture. So, when things get rough and you don't know where to turn . . . should you turn to my closet? Can we really solve life's booboos and owies by wrapping ourselves up in a cotton-poly blend? I have got to admit, this is a tough one. I have been fast to throw icing on a burnt cake in the past. However, sometimes in life the quick fix isn't all it’s cracked up to be. For example, remember when I said you could stuff my sweater in that annoying girl’s mouth to keep her quiet? Yea, well, eventually she is going to spit the sweater back out. Then you are going to have a slobbery sweater and one really outspoken girl ready to let loose on you. NOT a good combination.

Now I have you all confused! So, what should you do the next time you get a little chilly? How about we ask the Big Man to wrap his loving arms around us! How simple does that sound?! He literally can solve any problem, heal any wound, and calm all the fears that are dwelling in your heart. All you have to do is ask. If you think about it, this really is a better deal that my sweater theory. He never goes out of style, and you can't leave him at home. The trick is (which really isn’t a trick at all) you have to have faith that Jesus can do it all.

"Faith is the yes of the heart, a confidence on which one stakes one's life." Martin Luther

"Faith in God is a wonderful commitment; it may come slowly or in a moment, but once it truly gets hold of us it changes just about everything" Extravagant Mercy by M. Craig Barnes

So, let your heart say YES to Jesus. My faith grows stronger each and every day. And even though I will continue to grow my sweater collection most likely for the rest of my life, my relationship with Jesus is growing faster and bigger than my closet could ever handle.
Now, go out this week leaving your sweaters, cardigans, jackets, hoodies, and pullovers at home and test this out for me so we can finally answer this burning question:

Are sweaters the secret to life?

How to be the perfect perfectionist

This week I am taking a class called "A workshop in Counseling procedures." It has been a great class and I have learned a lot not only about the art of a Motivational Interviewer but as a person. We were forced to do this completely awkward and anxiety provoking exercise where we took turns practicing the skills we learned on each other. We each had a turn to be the "patient" where we picked a small issue that we would like to work on to talk about. This could be anything from procrastination to exercising more. I picked to work on my perfectionism complex. I was asked if my perfectionism only dealt with academic responsibilities. I responded that no, I always try to do the best I can in any situation whether it was being the best daughter, the best sister, the best friend and so on. Later that day I was reflecting on the session and all the sudden I felt a bag of rocks hit me upside the head.
If I am so worried at being the best student and daughter, why would I not be trying to be the best Christian? Seriously, it didn't even cross my mind to say that during my session. Shouldn't the most important part of my life be the one thing I put the most effort towards? Sounds simple, I know!
I wonder if I stop putting so much pressure on myself to be the best at everything and put a little more effort into living a life full of Jesus then things would fall into place by themselves. One of the things I find most intriguing about my relationship with Jesus is that he knows my destiny and he still sits by my side and listens to me whine, complain, and push myself to the absolute limit trying to be the best version of myself. Must be pretty entertaining for Him! So, when will I realize that being perfect in His eyes, is simply being myself.

“As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him." 2Samuel 22:31

If I can figure out a way to take full refuge in The Lord and work on my relationship with my Best Friend a little more, then he in turn will provide more for me than I can ever do by working myself to extremes. This is so easy to say, but so hard to understand. I can't satisfy Jesus by making a 4.0 or being a size 2. However, I can satisfy him by having a heart full of His love.

"To all perfection I see a limit, but your commands are boundless." Psalm 119:96

I can only get so far on my own, but with The Lord I can do things unimaginable. I think I'll make it my goal this week to turn my perfectionism toward something else, somebody else. . . My merciful man upstairs!
So my perfect people. . .

Is perfectionism the secret to life? 

A hold on my heart

Love is the mystery this week. Does this undefinable fairytale feeling solve all of life's tumultuous issues? I can't say that I am liable to answer this question. I say this because I have never been "In Love" in all of my long drawn out 21 years.
Does this bother me? Well, sometimes. Mainly when I visit family or old friends who pop the never-ending question, "Do you have a boyfriend, yet?"
"Well, no grandma, I don't thanks for rubbing that sore in for me."
And then the follow up, "Well, why not?"
This is where I want to say "Because I want to rot and be alone and miserable for the entirety of my life."
But instead I calmly go with the less facetious response of, "I don't know."
So, if I was to have found my knight in shining armor by now, would I have all my ducks in a row? I've always told myself, I know God is going to put the perfect man in my life at the right time. I know that I have to be fully stable in a relationship with Him in order to involve myself in a relationship with any ole random schmoo off the streets. But when I step back and evaluate my life thus far, I realize that I live a pretty awesome life that is filled with some pretty awesome people. I have gotten opportunities to do things with my time that not everyone gets to do. I have been able to focus on myself, and my own spiritual well-being for 21 years, which is pretty neat. And let me tell you, I still don't have it all figured out (obviously).
So maybe love is the answer to my search. But perhaps this love involves something other than Dr. Mcdreamy. I'm thinkin' that my love story involves a weary soul and a merciful Creator. And to be honest. . . I'm likin' the sound of that. How can I go wrong with the one who: knows me better than anyone on this earth, will never desert me or cause me harm, and who is always there no matter what I do. I think I got lucky here. I'm in love with the only perfect thing that exists, and the best part is He loves me right back!
So, grandma, the reason I don't have a boyfriend is not because I'm not worthy of true love, it's because Jesus has a hold on my heart and he won't give it away to just anyone!

Is falling in love the secret to life?

Safety First?

If you are the kind of person who loves a good bungee jump or enjoys doing insane activities like jumping out of airplanes, then I commend you. Those are two things I would rather not ever attempt to do in my lifetime. The mere thought of it makes me wanna crawl under my blanket and cling tightly to my pillow. I have been thinking about the normalcy of my life lately and have been struck with a realization that I do not love so much. I live a plain Jane always the same life. Yes, I love my life and my friends and all that jazz but a girl has got to get some adventure up in her life ya know!?
So, does this mean I also play it safe when it comes to loving Jesus? In Crazy Love, Francis Chan says, "Christians today like to play it safe. We want to put ourselves in a situation where we are safe, 'even if there is no God.'" Which is totally true for me. I like to know that I am in the clear if there is a God, but don't miss out on life, just in case this whole Jesus thing turns out to be a hoax. I wish someone would have hit me in the head with this a while ago because HELLO! This is no way to live! With Jesus, you're either in or your out, there is no meet me in the middle in this situation. "Something is wrong when our lives make sense to unbelievers." In order to really surrender our whole hearts to Christ we must do things on this Earth that seem pretty crazy, but when we reach eternity it will be so well worth the risk! To be a Christian it is necassary to take risks and do things that are scary. We need to jump out of the plane! Maybe I just need to go sky diving. . .who wants to join???

Is adventure the secret to life?

This is my friend Christie sky diving. . . doesn't look so bad!!!